University System News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia colleges waive SAT/ACT requirements for upcoming admissions
By Eric Stirgus
Several dozen Georgia colleges and universities will waive SAT and ACT test requirements for upcoming semesters due to uncertainty about the scheduling of those exams amid the coronavirus pandemic, officials announced Tuesday. The 26-member University System of Georgia will waive the requirements for the spring, summer and fall 2021 semesters. Spelman College in Atlanta also announced Tuesday it will waive the requirements for students hoping to enroll there for the fall 2021 semester. “USG made the decision after monitoring testing availability during the spring and summer when multiple test date cancellations have prevented thousands of students from having access to a testing opportunity,” Tristan Denley, the system’s chief academic officer, said in a letter to officials received by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution through the Georgia Open Records Act.
News Medical
Universities collaborate to develop COVID-19 virus-trapping materials
Researchers around the world are racing to find treatments to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic that has caused more than 16 million human infections globally. COVID-19 is caused by the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. A person becomes infected when the virus makes its way through the mouth or nose into the lungs and from there into the cells that line the inside of our lungs. Exactly how the virus gets past the protective barriers in our lungs is unknown, but scientists have recently discovered that SARS-CoV-2 binds to a type of carbohydrate-based polymer called glycosaminoglycan (GAG). The widely used anticoagulant heparin belongs to this class of natural polymers, and hospitalized patients with COVID-19 who were administered heparin to treat blood clotting disorders also experienced a lower risk of dying from COVID-19. Researchers at Virginia Tech and the University of Georgia are collaborating to explore whether the tendency of the virus to bind to carbohydrate-based polymers, such as heparin, can be used to develop virus-trapping gels and surfaces.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
New White House report warns of Georgia’s ‘fragile’ coronavirus improvement
By Greg Bluestein, J. Scott Trubey
Kemp considers re-deploying National Guard ‘strike teams’
The latest report from President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force shows Georgia had the second-highest rate of new coronavirus infections in the nation over the past week, and it continues to urge state leaders to impose a mask mandate and other restrictions to stem the spread of COVID-19. Gov. Brian Kemp’s office countered Tuesday by pointing to recent statistics that show signs of improvement and said it was considering deploying Georgia National Guard “mobile strike teams” to nursing homes, religious institutions, schools and colleges to better contain the disease. …To increase testing capacity, she said Kemp is considering redeploying new National Guard “mobile strike teams” to areas struggling with a surge in cases. That could include dispatching troops to schools and colleges in the University System of Georgia schools and colleges that’s university system, which have had several recent outbreaks with the return of students. Kemp previously deployed National Guard strike teams to nursing homes to help with testing and cleaning facilities.
Athens CEO
UGA Now Poised to Better Fight Infectious Diseases
Michael Terrazas
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Lance Wells and his colleagues wanted to learn more about why the virus was so contagious in humans. To properly study this question using live virus samples, he not only needed an extremely sophisticated mass spectrometer, but the device would need to be inside a biocontainment facility. The University of Georgia had such a facility, and it also had an advanced mass spectrometer, but the two were not co-located. If the instrument could simply be moved, Wells would be in business. Now, UGA is poised to respond more aggressively not only to COVID-19 but to any other pathogen that threatens the human population. Its state-of-the-art Thermo Fisher Scientific mass spectrometer has been moved into biosafety level 3 containment on campus, giving the university a capability that no other university can match.
WTOC
Georgia Southern freshman adjusting to new college lifestyle during a pandemic
By Dal Cannady
This fall semester at Georgia Southern University, with a pandemic, includes plenty of adjustments for faculty, staff, and students. Only a handful of students sat in this lecture hall and signs on the seats kept them at a distance. “One day per week, I’m in class. The rest of the week, I’m on virtual. I’ve really liked that part,” Georgia Southern freshman Fionna McBride said. Rotations like this and others are part of university life this semester. University Provost Dr. Carl Reiber says they’ve created web pages and help lines for students who think they might have been exposed to the virus. He says they’re using those to mitigate further spread.
Athens CEO
A Revised Campus Life on a Reopened Campus
Leigh Beeson
The 2020-2021 academic year began Thursday at the University of Georgia, but it looks a bit different than in the past. The COVID-19 pandemic introduced us to concepts like social distancing and flattening the curve, and those phrases are very much at the center of UGA’s preparations to reopen campus safely while still providing quintessential college experiences. One of the most obvious changes is the mask mandate, which requires everyone to wear face coverings inside campus facilities where appropriate social distance may not always be possible. The mandate includes masking up in buses, too. But wearing a face covering isn’t a substitute for social distancing, and Bulldogs are encouraged to keep at least 6 feet away from others whenever possible—even outdoors.
WSAV
Georgia College warns students attending parties, off-campus gatherings could face suspension
By: Laura Wolverton
The president of Georgia College issued a warning to students related to COVID-19 and large gatherings on Monday. GC President Steve Dorman sent a letter to students asking them to refrain from attending house parties and off-campus gatherings as local COVID-19 cases continue to increase. Dorman said Georgia College will discipline students who are caught attending parties and large gatherings, citing the student code of conduct. The code of conduct says GC may discipline students in non-academic matters if they are endangering the university community. “Any behavior that endangers the health and safety of our campus is serious business,” Dorman said. Dorman said disciplinary action could include suspension from Georgia College.
Tifton CEO
Staplcotn Investment in ABAC Student Pays Dividend
Staff Report
When Staplcotn invested the cost of a Washington D.C. internship in Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College student Mitchel Sheffield in 2018, the company never thought about that investment paying off in a future employee. But it did. Sheffield, a Donalsonville native, began work recently as a Staplcotn Cotton Specialist I based in Albany with a sales territory sweeping across South Georgia. “We are very pleased that for the first time we have a new hire who actually participated in our internship program,” Shane Stephens, Vice President of Cotton Services and Warehousing, said. “While attending ABAC, Mitchel gained valuable experience serving as a Washington D.C. intern for Georgia Senator David Perdue under the Staplcotn sponsored program.”
WABE
Campus Workers Call For A ‘Safer And More Equitable’ Back-To-School Plan
Grace Walker
It’s a question institutions of higher education across the country are grappling with: how and when to begin the academic year. Just last week, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus made headlines after pivoting from in-person classes to remote learning following a spike in COVID-19 cases. At the time of their decision, UNC officials reported cases had risen from 2.8% to 13.6% over the week students were on campus. After the spike in cases was reported, the Daily Tarheel — the University’s student newspaper — published an editorial with the headline: “We all saw this coming.” Now, some professors and students worry a similar situation may unfold in Georgia. …Denechia Powell, a graduate assistant at Georgia College and State University, Joe Fu, a math professor at the University of Georgia, Rebekah Ward, a biology professor at Georgia Gwinnett College and Bryant Barnes, a graduate assistant at UGA, are all members of the United Campus Workers of Georgia. The group is calling on the University System of Georgia to “set policies that allow a safer and more equitable return to campus during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.”
The Red & Black
Shared space: Athens residents raise concerns over UGA’s reopening
Jake Drukman | City News Editor
Jess Carmean, a retail worker and resident of Athens for 19 years, has Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, an autoimmune disease that causes her immune system to attack her thyroid gland. She also has a genetic mutation that further reduces her immune system’s capacity to fight off illnesses. For Carmean, the COVID-19 pandemic has already presented a challenge, and now, her hometown has thousands of new people coming into the community. The University of Georgia started its fall semester on Aug. 20, inviting more than 37,000 Athens students to campus for in-person instruction. Athens-Clarke County had 2,491 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Aug. 23. …As students flood back into the Athens community, student groups have been seen failing to follow safety guidelines recommended by the university.
WRDW
Paulson Stadium capacity will begin at up to 25 percent
The Georgia Southern Athletics Department announced Monday changes to game day attendance numbers at Allen E. Paulson Stadium for the 2020 football season. To align with guidance put in place by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, and following NCAA, Sun Belt Conference, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Georgia Department of Public Health and University System of Georgia social distancing standards due to concerns around the COVID-19 pandemic, Georgia Southern University President Dr. Kyle Marrero has approved a plan to begin the season at up to 25 percent stadium capacity. Georgia Southern and the Department of Athletics remain committed to the safety and well-being of all students, faculty and staff as the University welcomes everyone back for the fall.
WGXA
MGA School of Aviation hosts unveiling event for two new donated planes
by WGXA Digital Staff
Middle Georgia State University(MGA) held a dedication ceremony unveiling two new planes that will be used to expand flight education to Macon. The school is home to Georgia’s only public School of Aviation and is based out of Eastman and operates satellite locations in Macon and Abel. MGA obtained the two single-engine Piper Archers through an $800,000 donation from the Charles. H. Jones Family Foundation. A plaque was unveiled at the event to honor the Jones Family Foundation. The two new planes were detailed in the school’s colors and also displayed their mascot with ” A gift from the Charles H. Jones Family” dedication below it.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
OPINION: In reopening, University System of Georgia failed to weigh costs/benefits
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
An economics professor urges leadership: ‘Use the data, use the health metrics – your decision can still save lives’
Michael Gove is an associate professor of economics at the University of North Georgia. He is director of the UNG Center for Economic Education in the Mike Cottrell College of Business. In his first guest column for the AJC Get Schooled blog, Gove assail the leadership of Georgia’s public university system for failing in its decision to reopen campus classrooms to consider a basic idea he explains to economics students on the first day of class: weigh the potential costs and benefits. By MICHAEL GOVE The first week of classes at the University of North Georgia just ended. For many of my students, this week is often their first exposure to ideas from economics. Because students often view economics as complicated, I always dedicate the first days to relatively simple yet big ideas of economics. One big idea they hear from me is “the economic way of thinking,” which is when we approach decisions by carefully weighing the potential costs and benefits. I tell my students that to improve their economic way of thinking they need to be well informed and use that information to guide their decisions.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated Aug. 25, 3 p.m.)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
DEATHS: 5,262 | Deaths have been confirmed in 157 counties. County is determined by the patient’s residence, when known, not by where they were treated.
CONFIRMED CASES: 258,354 | Cases have been confirmed in every county.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
ACT Cancels 2 International Test Administrations
By Scott Jaschik
ACT announced Tuesday that it was canceling the December 2020 and the February 2021 test administrations of the ACT, “due to new COVID-19 testing procedures and other changes necessary to navigate safe testing.” ACT said that people who signed up for those tests would be called and, for free, helped to register for another test.
Inside Higher Ed
Running Numbers or Running From Numbers?
As colleges moved to reopen classrooms this fall, groups of researchers were forthright with statistical modeling showing likely COVID-19 infections on campus. That’s more than some public flagship universities can say.
By Rick Seltzer
In the middle of August, a group of Pennsylvania State University faculty members posted the fruits of weeks of statistical modeling — projecting results of their university’s plans to bring undergraduates back to State College for in-person fall classes. …Transparency in Decision Making
The question of whether administrators will release epidemiological modeling is bigger than any one college or university, and it’s about much more than the modeling itself. It cuts to the heart of decision making by higher education leaders across the country. How administrators made the decision to reopen campuses for in-person instruction in the fall has been an important point of discussion for months. So too has been what they considered as they crafted plans for testing, reduced density on campuses, mask-wearing requirements and other efforts to combat the transmission of a virus that could easily incubate undetected among groups of young, healthy students concentrated around a college campus — then leap to older, sicker populations like staff members, faculty members and local residents.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Colleges Are Making Late Calls to Shut Campuses. Is It All About the Money?
By Eric Kelderman
By the time students began arriving on campuses this month, tuition bills and housing contracts were paid. As they moved into dorms, they bought books, school supplies, and swag at the campus bookstore. They bought meal plans in anticipation of a semester of cafeteria dining. All that money was spent for what students, parents, and campus administrators had hoped would be a somewhat normal semester of college in the midst of a pandemic. Some of those plans have been dashed, as outbreaks of the coronavirus led to the canceling of in-person courses at several institutions. …But as students cancel their plans to study on campus, nearly all of the money they spent for tuition will stay with the university. The change in instructional plans in some cases came too late for students to get full refunds of their tuition if they withdrew. And it made it nearly impossible for them to attend a different college. Some observers have eyed campus leaders’ decision-making with suspicion: Were these late decisions all about securing nonrefundable tuition?
Inside Higher Ed
Cases Spike at Universities Nationally
Some parts of the country appear particularly vulnerable.
By Lilah Burke
Most colleges and universities have now begun classes and brought students to campus all over the country. Several of those institutions, especially large ones, are now seeing outbreaks of COVID-19 among students. Many of the most visible and serious outbreaks are in the Southeast United States. The University of Alabama has had over 500 cases at its Tuscaloosa campus, for example, and Auburn University has seen over 200 cases this week alone. The University of Miami reported 141 after the first week of class, and the University of Kentucky has seen 250 cases so far. In some examples, the shock of those case counts is tempered by considering high enrollment numbers and a low positivity rate. The University of Kentucky, for example, enrolls over 30,000 students, and its positive results as a share of tests reach only 1.1 percent.